Friday, August 28, 2009

Saab spills few more beans on 9-5 [w/new pics]

I'm drooling over every new morsel I can find about the future of Saab.

An article with more hi-res pictures about the upcoming succulent 9-5 is below, but first a brilliant "Changing Perspective" ad for the new 9-3x and a quick interview Saab's new CEO Christian von Koenigsegg:

It's been about a month since a batch of photos of the new 2010 Saab 9-5 showed up online thanks to a leaky German magazine. With only three weeks to go until the Frankfurt Motor Show, Saab has just dropped a press release and a fresh batch of images of its new flagship. With a profile that will be immediately recognizable to Saab fans of yore, the new 9-5 sedan moves to General Motors' new Epsilon II platform along with the Opel Insignia and Buick LaCrosse - despite the fact that Saab is in the midst of divorcing GM in favor of a relationship with Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg.

Sticking with another Saab tradition and reinforcing a growing industry-wide trend, all available engines in the 9-5 will be turbocharged, ranging from a 1.6-liter gas four banger to the 2.8-liter V-6 found in the 9-3 Turbo-X and the new Cadillac SRX crossover. The two engines available from day one will both be 2.0-liter four-cylinders - one running on gas, the other diesel. The petrol 2.0-liter will later get a flex-fuel E85 option as well. The 2.0-liter gas and BioPower engines as well as the 300 horsepower 2.8-liter V6 will also get the Haldex XWD ('Cross-Wheel Drive') all wheel drive system.

Perhaps drawing on the company's admittedly shopworn 'Born From Jets' slogan, options for the new 9-5 will include a heads-up display (dubbed 'Pilot HUD'), as well as 'DriveSense adaptive chassis with real-time damping control,' three-zone HVAC, and bi-level Xenon headlamps. Interestingly, the 9-5 will get a keyless entry/start feature, but in order to honor tradition, the start button will be between the seats (where the ignition key cylinder was traditionally located). Check out the new images in the top gallery below and the press release after the jump.